1School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.

Abstract

Cadmium(II) complexes of ethyl 4-hydroxy-3,5-bis(((2-hydroxyethyl)(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)methyl)benzoate (CO(2)EtH(3)L1) and ethyl 4-hydroxy-3,5-bis(((2-methoxyethyl)(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino)methyl)benzoate (CO(2)EtHL2) are described. The two ligands possess an ethyl ester (CO(2)Et-) at the position para to the phenolic -OH; CO(2)EtHL2, with methyl ether donors in contrast to potentially nucleophilic alkoxide donors in CO(2)EtH(3)L1, offers a direct comparison of potential ligand-centered nucleophiles. The complex with CO(2)EtH(3)L1 was characterized using (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and microanalysis; X-ray crystallography defined a tetranuclear structure [Cd(4)(CO(2)EtH(2)L1)(2)(CH(3)COO)(3.75)Cl(0.25)(H(2)O)(2)](PF(6))(2). Functional studies of the cadmium(II) complexes were undertaken with the substrates bis(2,4-dinitrophenyl)phosphate (BDNPP), and nitrocefin to assess their phosphatase and β-lactamase activities, respectively. The complexes with CO(2)EtH(3)L1 and CO(2)EtHL2 are competent phosphoesterase mimics with K(M) = 9.4 ± 2.1 mM and 10.1 ± 3.4 mM, k(cat) = 9.4 ± 0.2 × 10(-3) s(-1) and 9.7 ± 2.7 × 10(-3) s(-1), respectively. Use of a solvent mixture containing H(2)(18)O/H(2)(16)O in the reaction with BDNPP showed that for the complex with CO(2)EtH(3)L1 the (18)O label was incorporated in the reaction product suggesting that the nucleophile involved is a Cd-OH moiety and not a metal bound alkoxide; for CO(2)EtHL2 the presence of the methyl-ether dictates that the active nucleophile must also be a hydroxide. The cadmium(II) complex with CO(2)EtH(3)L1 was furthermore found to be a competent β-lactamase mimic with k(cat) = 1.39 × 10(-2) ± 3 × 10(-3) s(-1), K(M) = 0.11 ± 0.03 mM, and pK(a) = 7.9 ± 0.1. Mass spectral evidence suggested that the active nucleophile in this reaction is the alkoxide; lack of β-lactamase activity of the complex with CO(2)EtHL2 supports this assignment. Similar to enzyme-catalyzed reactions, a blue reaction intermediate in the β-lactamase reaction of the CO(2)EtH(3)L1 complex was also identified. It is proposed that the Cd(II) complexes of CO(2)EtH(3)L1 and CO(2)EtHL2 react identically as phosphatases, with a terminal hydroxide as the nucleophile; the former exhibits β-lactamase activity with the alkoxide as a nucleophile, while the latter, without a potentially nucleophilic alkoxide, is inactive.